Tag: chiefs

New England and 41-year-old quarterback Tom Brady will be going to their third consecutive Super Bowl after they beat the Kansas City Chiefs 37-31 in overtime on Sunday, with the Los Angeles Rams standing between the Patriots and a sixth NFL title. The Rams secured their berth in the Super Bowl after a controversial 26-23 overtime win over the New Orleans Saints in the National Football Conference title game. The teams will meet in the Super Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia on February 3. American Footb

New England and 41-year-old quarterback Tom Brady will be going to their third consecutive Super Bowl after they beat the Kansas City Chiefs 37-31 in overtime on Sunday, with the Los Angeles Rams standing between the Patriots and a sixth NFL title.

The Rams secured their berth in the Super Bowl after a controversial 26-23 overtime win over the New Orleans Saints in the National Football Conference title game.

The teams will meet in the Super Bowl in Atlanta, Georgia on February 3.

American Football Conference champions New England beat the Atlanta Falcons 34-28 in overtime in the 2017 Super Bowl and lost 41-33 to the Philadelphia Eagles a year ago.

Their 11 Super Bowl appearances are the most ever.

The Rams have played in three previous Super Bowls, beating the Tennessee Titans 23-16 in Atlanta in 2000 when they were based in St Louis. They last appeared in the title game in 2002 when they lost to the Patriots 20-17.

In the case of the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes ($4.1 million) and Rams’ Jared Goff ($7 million), their annual average salaries are a combined $11 million. Last off-season, the New Orleans’ signal-caller had a lot of leverage when he signed a free-agent deal with the Saints. To take a $25 million per year deal, when others were getting $30 million and above, allowed the Saints to use the extra money on the team. At $20.5 million per year, it’s a bargain for the Patriots, considering that 15 other qua

When the Kansas City Chiefs, New England Patriots, St. Louis Rams and New Orleans Saints take to the field on Sunday to square off for a Super Bowl berth, each team will share one strikingly similar connection: Their starting quarterbacks all make less money than what they could make on the open market.

In the case of the Chiefs’ Patrick Mahomes ($4.1 million) and Rams’ Jared Goff ($7 million), their annual average salaries are a combined $11 million. That’s because of league-mandated rookie-scale contracts that keeps a lid on what newly drafted players can make.

That cost-effectiveness is unlikely to last long, especially if both players continue to play at stratospheric levels and get offered big contracts at their next signing. But at least for the moment, Goff’s and Mahomes’ relatively low salaries are a big benefit to their teams, allowing them to spend money on weapons all around the quarterbacks.

It’s also why in the past, many young quarterbacks see instant team success. Seattle’s Russell Wilson, Baltimore’s Joe Flacco, San Francisco’s Colin Kaepernick, Dallas’ Dak Prescott, and Washington’s Robert Griffin III are some examples of that effect in the last several years.

Even consider last year’s champion, the Philadelphia Eagles. The team had Carson Wentz for cheap ($6.7 million annual average), which allowed them to have a strong backup in Nick Foles, who took over for an injured Wentz to win the Super Bowl.

Then there are Drew Brees and Tom Brady. Last off-season, the New Orleans’ signal-caller had a lot of leverage when he signed a free-agent deal with the Saints. To take a $25 million per year deal, when others were getting $30 million and above, allowed the Saints to use the extra money on the team. At the time, it was noted as the most team-friendly contract in the league.

Yet Brady’s salary has become a point of debate and confusion for so many years. He consistently takes less money than he could. At $20.5 million per year, it’s a bargain for the Patriots, considering that 15 other quarterbacks league-wide make a higher average salary.

“Certainly the Rams and Chiefs did some serious spending with those cheap contracts in place,” said Andrew Brandt, a sports law professor at Villanova with past experience as an NFL player agent and an executive with the Green Bay Packers. “Tom Brady perennially takes less, and Drew Brees signed a market deal but he could have received more money.”

The pay disparity is even more jarring when considering the league’s six highest paid quarterbacks all missed the playoffs this year, while only one of those teams even finished with a winning record. That includes veterans like Aaron Rodgers ($33.5 million), Matt Ryan ($30 million), Kirk Cousins ($28 million), and Matt Stafford ($27 million).

It’s possible teams start to notice that an extra $5 to $10 million saved on a veteran QB can buy a lot of help at multiple positions. However, that’s nothing compared to a team saving $20 to $30 million by having a young quarterback (who, of course is capable of playing at a very high level) on a rookie contract.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated on Thursday the U.S. central bank has the ability to be patient on monetary policy given that inflation remains stable. Fed Vice Chair Richard Clarida also struck a dovish tone, underscoring the central bank’s willingness to remain patient on the issue of raising rates. “The Fed Funds Rate is no longer accommodative but neutral, and more importantly, positive in real terms. In line with a more patient Fed, the U.S. dollar’ rise will become gentler,” said Phi

The dollar fell versus its major peers on Friday, as investors grew increasingly confident that the U.S. Federal Reserve may hit the pause button on monetary tightening this year.

Fed Chairman Jerome Powell reiterated on Thursday the U.S. central bank has the ability to be patient on monetary policy given that inflation remains stable. Markets are now pricing in no further rate hikes by the Fed this year.

“The market has almost priced in that the Fed will not be hiking rates any further. To get the dollar weaker, market now has to expect a rate cut…I don’t see that happening,” said Sim Moh Siong, currency strategist at Bank of Singapore.

Sentiment was still slightly cautious in Asian trade on a lack of concrete details from the United States and China on any progress in their trade dispute after a three-day meeting in Beijing. The two sides are more than halfway through a 90-day truce agreed by U.S. President Donald Trump and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping.

Traders still remain optimistic that a trade deal between the world’s largest economies will eventually materialize. U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said late on Thursday that Chinese Vice Premier Liu He will “most likely” visit Washington later in January for trade talks.

Bank of Singapore’s Sim added that currencies such as the Australian dollar, a gauge of risk appetite, and the New Zealand dollar, are likely to see further gains if a U.S.-Sino trade deal is reached.

The Aussie dollar was last at $0.7201, gaining 0.2 percent versus the greenback, while the kiwi firmed 0.44 percent to $0.6808.

The dollar also fell 0.47 percent versus the offshore yuan to 6.7602. The yuan is now at its strongest since late July last year.

The dollar index fell by 0.17 percent to 95.37. The index has fallen around 2.2 percent since mid-December on expectations that a slowdown in growth, both in the United States as well as globally, will restrict the Fed from raising rates in 2019.

In 2018, the greenback outperformed its peers, gaining 4.3 percent as the Fed hiked rates four times on the back of a strong domestic economy, falling unemployment and rising wage pressures. This has caused traders to turn bearish on the dollar.

However, few analysts still forecast a rising dollar for this year.

“The Fed Funds Rate is no longer accommodative but neutral, and more importantly, positive in real terms. In line with a more patient Fed, the U.S. dollar’ rise will become gentler,” said Philip Wee, currency strategist at DBS in a note.

The euro gained 0.2 percent to $1.1519, after losing 0.4 percent of its value in the previous session. The single currency has been pressured by a slew of weaker-than-expected economic data, especially from France and Germany.

The European Central Bank is widely expected to remain accommodative in 2019, which should keep a lid on the single currency.

Elsewhere, sterling traded marginally firmer, fetching $1.2752 in early Asian trade with traders focused on the progress of Brexit.

British Prime Minister Theresa May must win a vote in parliament to get her Brexit deal approved or risk seeing Britain’s exit from the European Union descend into chaos. The vote is now due to take place on Jan. 15. The numbers are not in May’s favor and her chances of winning the vote look extremely slim.

The dollar weakened versus the Canadian dollar by 0.17 percent to C$1.3211. The greenback has lost 3.25 percent against the loonie over the last six sessions, with the commodity-linked currency bolstered by a rebound in oil prices.

President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he’s picked a battle-hardened commander who oversaw troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to be the nation’s next top military adviser. If confirmed by the Senate, Gen. Mark Milley, who has been chief of the Army since August 2015, would succeed Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Trump tweeted the announcement, saying “I am pleased to announce my nomination of four-star General Mark Milley, Chief of Staff of the United Sta

President Donald Trump announced Saturday that he’s picked a battle-hardened commander who oversaw troops in Iraq and Afghanistan to be the nation’s next top military adviser.

If confirmed by the Senate, Gen. Mark Milley, who has been chief of the Army since August 2015, would succeed Marine Gen. Joseph Dunford as chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff. Dunford’s term doesn’t end until Oct. 1. Trump said the date of transition is yet to be determined.

Trump tweeted the announcement, saying “I am pleased to announce my nomination of four-star General Mark Milley, Chief of Staff of the United States Army – as the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, replacing General Joe Dunford, who will be retiring. I am thankful to both of these incredible men for their service to our Country!”

Dunford is a former commandant of the Marine Corps and commander of coalition troops in Afghanistan. Milley commanded troops during several tours in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Trump’s decision, which he announced before leaving Washington to attend the annual Army-Navy football game in Philadelphia, caught some in the Pentagon by surprise on Friday. Normally an announcement on a new chairman wouldn’t be expected until early next year. The officials said the Air Force chief, Gen. David Goldfein, was also a strong contender for the job, but they indicated that Milley has a very good relationship with the president.

Trump hinted earlier Friday that he would make an announcement on Saturday, when he attends the game and is expected to perform the coin toss to decide which team gets the ball first. “I can give you a little hint: It will have to do with the Joint Chiefs of Staff and succession,” he said.

Milley is known as a charismatic, outgoing leader who has not been afraid to offer candid and sometimes blunt assessments to Congress. Last year he admonished the House Armed Services Committee for its inability to approve a defense budget, slamming it as “professional malpractice.” And in 2016, he told lawmakers, in answer to a direct question, that women should also have to register for the draft now that they are allowed to serve in all combat jobs.

As the Army’s top leader, he helped shepherd the groundbreaking move of women into front-line infantry and other combat positions, while warning that it would take time to do it right. More recently, he has worked with his senior officers to reverse a shortfall in Army recruiting when the service fell far short of its annual goal this year.

He also played a role in one of the Army’s more contentious criminal cases. While serving as head of U.S. Army Forces Command at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, Milley was assigned to review the case of former Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl, who abandoned his post in Afghanistan and was held captive by the Taliban for five years.

Milley made the early decision to charge Bergdahl with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy. Bergdahl was eventually found guilty, reduced in rank to private, dishonorably discharged and fined $10,000, but was spared any additional prison time.

A native of Winchester, Massachusetts, and a fervent supporter of the Boston Red Sox and other city teams, Milley received his Army commission from Princeton University in 1980. An infantry officer by training, he also commanded Special Forces units in a career that included deployments in the invasion of Panama in 1989, the multinational mission in Bosnia-Herzegovina to implement the Dayton Peace Accords, and the Iraq war.

The Milley move starts a series of military leadership changes in coming months, including successors in 2019 for Adm. John Richardson as the chief of Naval Operations, Gen. Robert Neller as commandant of the Marine Corps, and Air Force Gen. Paul Selva as vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs. Trump also will pick a replacement for Milley as Army chief.

Goldfein began his term as Air Force chief of staff in 2016, so wouldn’t be expected to step down until the summer of 2020.

Attempts by the NFL to win more fans in China is being held back by one major problem — a lack of games. Richard Young, the managing director of NFL China, told CNBC Wednesday that with each U.S. franchise only holding an inventory of eight regular season home games it would be difficult to give any away to an overseas audience. Until that time, it’s logistically very difficult,” he told CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal at the East West Tech conference in the Nansha district of Guangzhou, China. Young added

Attempts by the NFL to win more fans in China is being held back by one major problem — a lack of games.

Richard Young, the managing director of NFL China, told CNBC Wednesday that with each U.S. franchise only holding an inventory of eight regular season home games it would be difficult to give any away to an overseas audience.

“I think when you can fly between New York and Shanghai in an hour and a half, then we can do that. Until that time, it’s logistically very difficult,” he told CNBC’s Arjun Kharpal at the East West Tech conference in the Nansha district of Guangzhou, China.

Young added that unlike other sports, pre-season NFL games would not be attractive.

“Because of the physicality in our game, it makes exhibition games less compelling.”

The NFL has been a major American sport since the 1920s but has upped efforts in recent years to gain an audience abroad. Regular season games at Wembley Stadium in London have proved popular, leading to increased speculation that China will be next.

Young said he expected that will happen at some point but confirmed to CNBC that the 2019 fixture list would not include a trip to China.

Last week, it was announced that the U.K. and European Union had reached a draft agreement on Brexit. If there is no trade agreement in this transition period (which could be extended), then a “backstop” could kick in. That does not bode well for May being able to get a majority of Parliament to approve the draft deal when a vote is held, likely to be in December. Over the last few days, the prime minister has staunchly defended the draft agreement and insisted that it was not the finished produ

The U.K.’s draft Brexit deal, causing such upset among the British political establishment, is not perfect but the country must avoid crashing out of the EU without a deal, the president of the influential Confederation of British Industry (CBI) said Monday.

“(The draft Brexit deal) is not perfect, we all know that,” John Allen told an annual conference of the CBI in London, “but we’re trying to reach a deal that respects the referendum result but limits the damage to our economy.”

“It opens a route to a long-term trade relationship,” he said, and avoids what he called “the nightmare scenario of a no-deal departure which would be a wrecking ball for our economy.”

Opening the CBI’s annual conference on Monday, Allen said the conference was taking place at a time when the political environment in the U.K. was changing “hour by hour.”

Allen’s comments come after a dramatic week in U.K. politics. Last week, it was announced that the U.K. and European Union had reached a draft agreement on Brexit.

Since then, the U.K.’s Prime Minister Theresa May has been trying to prevent an outright mutiny from both pro-Brexit ministers among her Cabinet (senior lawmakers) and the wider Conservative Party. There are many among both that don’t like the deal and say it keeps the U.K. tied to Europe economically and politically, although so far a vote of no-confidence and leadership challenge has not been announced.

The draft withdrawal agreement, which runs to 585 pages, envisages the U.K. and EU agreeing a trade deal by the end of 2020, during a 21-month transition period after Brexit takes place in March 2019.

If there is no trade agreement in this transition period (which could be extended), then a “backstop” could kick in. This would essentially mean that the U.K. stays within a temporary EU-U.K. “single customs territory” for a limited (but unspecified) amount of time.

The “backstop” is designed to prevent a hard border in Ireland, which no one wants to see but the concept has proved very controversial in Parliament with both Brexiteers and Remainers opposing the deal as it stands. That does not bode well for May being able to get a majority of Parliament to approve the draft deal when a vote is held, likely to be in December.

Over the last few days, the prime minister has staunchly defended the draft agreement and insisted that it was not the finished product. Speaking to Sky News on Sunday, May said any change of leadership would only delay Brexit.

Also speaking at the CBI conference, its Director-General Carolyn Fairbairn said that while Westminster was engulfed by Brexit, money was flooding out of U.K. businesses, damaging productivity and the wider economy.

She said she had heard from hundreds of British firms that now was not a time to go backwards, although she said the draft deal on offer was “significantly” better than a no-deal Brexit.

“Business would have liked more certainty about frictionless trade in the future but the crucial thing it does is take that cliff-edge away, it takes that no-deal (scenario) away. It isn’t perfect but it is a compromise and this is a time when we have to compromise,” she said.

Moon has replaced chief presidential policy aide Jang Ha-sung and finance minister Kim Dong-yeon, the two most senior policymakers in charge of running Asia’s fourth-largest economy, the presidential office announced. Presidential social policy aide Kim Soo-hyun will succeed Jang and veteran bureaucrat Hong Nam-ki, currently head of the government policy co-ordination office, will be the new finance minister, the presidential office said. The incoming chief presidential policy aide has been behi

South Korean President Moon Jae-in has fired both his top economic policymakers and replaced them with people already in the government, his office said on Friday, a move widely seen as intended to reinforce his controversial policies.

It was a bigger reshuffle than expected, but the appointment of their successors from within the government indicated President Moon would reinforce his economic policies, which economists have said were hurting growth.

Presidential social policy aide Kim Soo-hyun will succeed Jang and veteran bureaucrat Hong Nam-ki, currently head of the government policy co-ordination office, will be the new finance minister, the presidential office said.

The incoming chief presidential policy aide has been behind harsh regulatory measures aimed at curbing housing prices, which many analysts have said were against market principles.

The incoming finance minister has served at various government departments such as the finance ministry and the presidential office. He is still required to appear at a parliamentary verification hearing although approval there is not mandatory.

The high-profile appointments came amid criticism that Moon’s signature policies such as big minimum wage increases and a shorter work week had backfired, with lower income earners — the intended beneficiaries – feeling the most pain as employers cut back hiring.

South Korea’s minimum wages are set to be raised by nearly 30 percent over two years and the work week has been cut by almost a quarter for big companies, but initial outcomes have been a plunge in employment rates and lower incomes.

The outgoing finance minister, who has served since June last year as Moon’s first top economic policy planner, has repeatedly clashed with Jang by calling for some adjustment of the president’s ‘income-led growth’ strategy.

The economy saw growth in the July-September quarter holding steady from the previous quarter at 0.6 percent, but missing the market expectations as construction spending plunged by the most in two decades.

Private consumption held up on increased welfare support but a sharp cut in infrastructure spending and strong controls on property transactions clouded the outlook at a time when the global demand for South Korea’s exports is cooling.

However, there are still obstacles to overcome before the game gets the official go ahead. The Spanish Footballer’s Union (AFE) has already been strong opponents to the joint agreement made between La Liga and American sports and entertainment group Relevent. It announced plans last month, to play one Spanish game per season in North America over the next 15 years. The AFE reiterated in a statement on Monday of its anger at not being informed of the plans La Liga has committed to. Tebas stated t

Plans for Spain’s top soccer league to play a fixture in the United States have moved a step closer, after it asked for permission from the Spanish Football Federation to take Girona’s game against Barcelona abroad.

“Barcelona, Girona and La Liga have requested the authorisation of the Spanish Football Federation (RFEF) to play Girona v Barcelona on 26 January at the Hard Rock Stadium in Miami at 20.45 CET,” said a statement from the league on Tuesday.

Originally scheduled as a home match for Girona, the league’s organising body said on Tuesday it had also reached an agreement with prominent Spanish fans group Aficiones Unidas (Fans United). It will offer free return flights to compensate Girona season ticket holders who will be deprived of a home game against Barcelona as a result of the venue change.

Catalan based side Girona is partly owned by the parent group of Premier League champions Manchester City, who La Liga Chief Javier Tabas revealed had encouraged the club to get involved in the first U.S. match.

However, there are still obstacles to overcome before the game gets the official go ahead. The Spanish Footballer’s Union (AFE) has already been strong opponents to the joint agreement made between La Liga and American sports and entertainment group Relevent. It announced plans last month, to play one Spanish game per season in North America over the next 15 years.

Relevent is a company under the ownership of Stephen Ross, who also owns Miami Dolphins NFL team.

The AFE reiterated in a statement on Monday of its anger at not being informed of the plans La Liga has committed to. It went on to provide a full report on the impact it believed playing games in the U.S. will have on players.

Following a consultation with captains and senior members representing all 20 La Liga sides, the statement added that it will be the players who will make a final decision on whether or not they go to play the proposed Girona versus Barcelona game.

Tebas stated the league will earn €200 million ($232.80 million) for playing games in North America. He promised that teams will be under no obligation to take their matches across the Atlantic, with only clubs that volunteer making the trip and saying “this is much more than a game, it’s about strategy and sponsorship.”

As well as requiring the permission of the Spanish Football Federation, the game needs to be approved by European football’s governing body UEFA, as well as the United States’ soccer federation and the regional body CONCACAF.

U.N. leaders, foreign government officials, and human rights watchers have for months cited evidence of genocide in Myanmar, and the United States late last year said that “ethnic cleansing” was occurring in Myanmar. The investigators cited six Myanmar military leaders as “priority subjects” for possible prosecution, including the commander-in-chief, Min Aung Hlaing. A longer list of names is to be kept in the office of the U.N. human rights chief for possible use in future judicial proceedings.

Investigators working for the U.N.’s top human rights body said Monday that Myanmar military leaders should be prosecuted for genocide against Rohingya Muslims, taking the unusual step of identifying six by name to pinpoint the main alleged perpetrators of deadly, systematic crimes against the ethnic minority.

The call, accompanying a first report by the team of investigators, amounts to some of the strongest language yet from U.N. officials who have denounced alleged human rights violations in Myanmar since a bloody crackdown began last August.

The three-member “fact-finding mission” and their team, working under a mandate from the U.N.-backed Human Rights Council, meticulously assembled hundreds of accounts from expatriate Rohingya, as well as satellite footage and other information to assemble the report.

“The military’s contempt for human life, dignity and freedom — for international law in general — should be a cause of concern for the entire population of Myanmar, and to the international community as a whole,” said fact-finding mission chair Marzuki Darusman, a former Indonesian attorney-general, at a news conference.

The council created the mission in March last year — nearly six months before a string of deadly rebel attacks on security and police posts set off a crackdown that drove Rohingya to flee into neighboring Bangladesh. The U.N. estimated that more than 700,000 have fled.

The team compiled accounts of crimes including gang rape, the torching of hundreds of villages, enslavement, and killings of children — some before their eyes of their own parents. The team was not granted access to Myanmar and has decried a lack of cooperation or even response from the government, which received an early copy of the report.

The team cited a “conservative” estimate from aid group Reporters Without Borders that some 10,000 people were killed in the violence, but outside investigators have had no access to the affected regions — making a precise accounting elusive, if not impossible.

Above all, the investigators said the situation in Myanmar should be referred to the International Criminal Court, and if not, to a special tribunal. Last week, Myanmar’s government rejected any cooperation with the ICC, to which it is not a party. China, a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council with veto power over whether the issue will be brought before the ICC, has been reticent about condemning Myanmar’s government during the crisis.

U.N. leaders, foreign government officials, and human rights watchers have for months cited evidence of genocide in Myanmar, and the United States late last year said that “ethnic cleansing” was occurring in Myanmar. But few experts have studied the issue as in-depth, and in such an official way, as the fact-finding mission with a mandate from the 46-nation council.

The United Nations does not apply the word “genocide” lightly. The team’s assessment suggests the crimes against the Rohingya could meet the strict legal definition, which was last applied to state-supported abuses with respect to crimes in Bosnia and Rwanda nearly a quarter-century ago.

Human rights watchers say that determining “genocidal intent” is perhaps the most difficult criteria to meet: In essence, it’s the task of assessing the mindsets of perpetrators to determine if ethnicity, race, religion or another attribute had motivated them.

“The crimes in Rakhine state, and the manner in which they were perpetrated, are similar in nature, gravity and scope to those that have allowed genocidal intent to be established in other contexts,” the report said, alluding to a region of Myanmar that is home for many Rohingya.

Adding into their assessment: The extreme brutality of the crimes; “hate rhetoric” and specific speech by perpetrators and military commanders; policies of exclusion against Rohingya people; an “oppressive context;” and the “level of organization indicating a plan for destruction.”

The investigators cited six Myanmar military leaders as “priority subjects” for possible prosecution, including the commander-in-chief, Min Aung Hlaing. A longer list of names is to be kept in the office of the U.N. human rights chief for possible use in future judicial proceedings. The United States and European Union have already slapped sanctions on some Myanmar military leaders, though Min Aung Hlaing is not among them.

“The main perpetrator, the people that we want the spotlight on, is the Tatmadaw,” said mission member Radhika Coomaraswamy, a Sri Lankan former U.N. undersecretary-general, referring to Myanmar’s military.

Christopher Sidoti, an Australian human rights expert, acknowledged that no “smoking gun” linked the six military leaders directly to orders to carry out genocide, but pointed to inferences of their role based on a strict chain of command in Myanmar.

The authors called for the creation of a special body, or “mechanism,” to keep watch on the still-evolving human rights situation in Myanmar. They said the United Nations’ own role in the country since 2011 should be reviewed to see if the world body did all it could to prevent such a crisis.

They also faulted Aung San Suu Kyi for not using her role as head of Myanmar’s government, nor her “moral authority” — she is a Nobel peace prize laureate — to stop the events in embattled Rakhine state.

Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek is worth over $2 billion following the company’s trading debut on the NYSE. Despite Spotify’s shares coming off their initial highs Tuesday, Ek’s 9 percent stake in the company has soared in value over the past week. It’s now worth $2.3 billion. Co-founder Martin Lorentzon is now worth more than $3 billion. Spotify’s total valuation hit a high of $30.5 billion but has now settled back to around $26 billion.

Spotify co-founder Daniel Ek is worth over $2 billion following the company’s trading debut on the NYSE.

Despite Spotify’s shares coming off their initial highs Tuesday, Ek’s 9 percent stake in the company has soared in value over the past week. It’s now worth $2.3 billion.

Co-founder Martin Lorentzon is now worth more than $3 billion. Spotify’s total valuation hit a high of $30.5 billion but has now settled back to around $26 billion.

Despite his newfound paper fortune, Ek isn’t likely to go on a Ferrari or yacht-buying binge. Ek, 35, started his first tech company when he was 14, and made his first fortune when he was 23, after selling his online ad company Advertigo. After the sale, he enjoyed the usual sudden-wealth-syndrome excesses — he bought a Ferrari, partied and went to nightclubs in Stockholm in his native Sweden.

But all the money and gold diggers left him depressed. As he told the New Yorker: “I had always wanted to belong and I had been thinking that this was going to get solved when I had money, and instead I had no idea how I wanted to live my life.”

So he moved to a small cabin outside Stockholm and after he and his pal Lorentzon were talking about music, they eventually came up with the idea for their music streaming service.

Now he will join the roughly 60 billionaires in the world under the age of 40. Ek leads a low-key life: he doesn’t receive a base salary but is eligible for $1 million annual bonuses depending on the company’s growth. According to The Wall Street Journal, he splits his time between Stockholm and New York and is often spotted with his two kids at the playground.